NCBG
NCBG North Carolina Botanical Garden
Acalypha virginica
Acalypha virginica L.
virginia copperleaf, virginia threeseed mercury
image by Fleming, Gary P.
ID_PLANT: ACVI
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Acalypha virginica
GENUS: Acalypha
FAMILY: EUPHOR - Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)
NCBG DESCRIPTIVES
INTRO: Erect annual of dry oak-hickory forests, woodlands, barrens, outcrops, clearings, riverside prairies and weedy, disturbed habitats.
STEMS: Stems occasionally branched, light to medium green and densely hairy.
LEAVES: Leaves alternate, long-petiolate, elliptic to lance-shaped, to 3 in. long, with round-toothed margins, sparsely hairy; leaves often crowded toward top of plant.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers in axillary clusters, each resting on a leaf-like bract that is loosely folded around a short spike of male flowers and 1-3 female flowers; male flowers 1/8 in. wide, consisting of a 4-lobed calyx, no petals, and several stamens; female flowers 1/4 in. wide, consisting of insignificant sepals, no petals, and a 3-valved, round ovary with short divided styles.
FRUITS: Fruit a tiny, hairy, 3-lobed capsule.
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 6–24 in.
DURATION: Annual
HABIT: Herb
LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:
FLORAL
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Late Jun-Nov
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| x | x | x | x | x | x |
BLOOM COLOR: Greenish-yellow
| White | Red | Pink | Orange | Yellow | Green | Blue | Lavender | Purple | Violet | Brown | Not Applicable |
| x | x |
FRUITING PERIOD:
DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bottomlands, Disturbed, Outcrops and glades, Woods margins
NATIVE RANGE:
HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text:
Bloom Table Text:
NCBG Location:
Cultural Notes:
SOIL MOISTURE:
LIGHT EXPOSURE:
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:
USDA PLANTS DATABASE
USDA Symbol: ACVI
USDA Common Name: Virginia Threeseed Mercury
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WV)
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Forb/herb
NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS
| Region: | AGCP | AK | AW | CB | EMP | GP | HI | MW | NCNE | WMVE |
| Status: | FACU | FACU | FACU | FACU | FACU |
WEAKLEY FLORA
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Acalypha virginica
COMMON NAME: Virginia Copperleaf
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, GW, Il, K, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, Z; = A. virginica Linnaeus var. virginica - Y]
PHENOLOGY: Late Jun-Nov.
HABITAT: Woodlands and disturbed ground.
COMMENTS: ME west to IN, IL, MO, and KS, south to c. GA and TX.
RANGE MAP: Acalypha virginica.png
ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Euphorbiaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Spurge Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 313-322 genera and 8100-9000 species, trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs, nearly cosmopolitan in distribution, as defined broadly. Molecular systematics suggests that various units traditionally included in the Euphorbiaceae should be segregated (Soltis et al. 2000; Chase et al. 2002). In our flora, this includes Phyllanthus, Phyllanthopsis, and Glochidion (in Phyllanthaceae).
REFERENCE: Webster (1967), Webster (1994); Govaerts, Frodin, & Radcliffe-Smith (2000); Webster in Kubitzki (2014). [also see PHYLLANTHACEAE]
ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Acalypha Linnaeus 1753 (Copperleaf, Three-seeded Mercury)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 430-462 species, shrubs, herbs, and trees, of primarily tropical and subtropical regions (rarely warm temperate).
REFERENCE: Levin in FNA (in prep.); Levin (1999b)=Z; Levin (1999a); Govaerts, Frodin, & Radcliffe-Smith (2000)=Y; Webster in Kubitzki (2014). Key based in part on Levin in FNA.
HERBARIUM RESOURCES
SERNEC: Find Acalypha virginica in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Acalypha virginica in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
WEB RESOURCES
USDA: Find Acalypha virginica in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Acalypha virginica in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Acalypha virginica in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Acalypha virginica
NCBG RECORD
ID IMAGE1: 33682
ID IMAGE2: 0
ID IMAGE3: 0
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-02-05
From the Image Gallery
 Image ID: 33808 |
 Image ID: 10505 |
 Image ID: 33807 |